There was a touch of vindication for Dele Alli in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt last night.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho brought him back into the squad for the 7-2 Europa League win over Maccabi Haifa, after leaving him out in recent weeks.
And Alli had a strong 45-minute cameo after replacing Giovani Lo Celso at the break, and scored Tottenham’s seventh of the night from the penalty spot.
But it was a moment of genius from the 24-year-old that won the spot-kick in the first place, as Alli cleverly nutmegged an opponent before being fouled inside the box.
The England international is being linked with a move away from North London as a result of Mourinho’s snubs in recent weeks.
And Danny Murphy believes that there’s something off about Alli, claiming he didn’t quite look himself last night.
He told Premier Sports after the game: “He didn’t look himself, it looked hard work for him at times. I think there is physically a problem when you are not mentally right.
“When you don’t know what your future holds, I think it affects you physically.”
Alli certainly played with a smile on his face last night, amid speculation that Paris Saint-Germain are in talks about signing the player on loan [RMC Sport].
But smiles can be deceiving and it can’t possibly sit right with him that he’s been cast aside so ruthlessly by the Portuguese as of late.
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